105th Annual Empty Stocking Fund Raises Over $173,000

November 29, 2017

The 105th annual Empty Stocking Fund raised $173,853. The Telegraph-Journal’s community fundraiser is one of the oldest newspaper-sponsored Christmas appeals in Canada. The funds are expected to brighten Christmas for over 2,300 children this year.

The tradition has humble beginnings; in 1912, a few nights before Christmas, Saint John reporter Harry (Dutch) Ervin saw two children looking at a department store display window from the street. He returned to the newsroom and collected $30. By Christmas Eve, the pot had grown to $700.

The Empty Stocking fund has grown to an annual telethon featuring children from the local community.

“This event is about the greater Saint John area and giving back,” said Henry Yates, Empty Stocking Fund Coordinator with the Telegraph-Journal. “I would like to thank all of our corporate sponsors, all of the volunteers and of course, the donors and performers today. I’d also like to remind everyone to please honour your pledges.”

In 2016, 2,300 children in the Saint John and surrounding areas were helped by The Empty Stocking Fund.